Success Stories and Case Studies

Tackling water salinity in Mewat, Haryana
Lalit Mohan Sharma of Sehgal Foundation, Gurgaon speaks to India Water Portal about innovative solutions to sail through Mewat's water crisis. Posted on 24 Nov, 2015 11:16 AM

What is the exact problem as regards groundwater salinity, fluoride and water scarcity in Mewat, Haryana? Is the area underlain with saline groundwater aquifers? What is the status of surface water in the area? Can it not reduce dependence on groundwater?

Tackling salinity in Mewat (Source: Lalit Mohan Sharma)
Sunny balconies and hanging gardens in Goa
Terrace kitchen gardens are slowly making their mark in the tourist hotspot. A couple helps those interested in organic farming either find good farmers or become one themselves! Posted on 22 Nov, 2015 09:59 PM

It was a sultry Sunday afternoon in Goa, the time traditionally reserved for heavy lunches followed by long siestas but the small crowd gathered at Arjuntree One in Margao defied the stereotype.

Karan and Yogita at a workshop on organic container kitchen gardening
Ponds--once a lifeline of India's agriculture--are being revived by some Punjab farmers
Farm ponds, rediscovered by a few farmers in Patiala, could be the answer to the state's growing groundwater crisis as they can harvest rainwater and cushion against flooding. Posted on 16 Nov, 2015 10:45 AM

The northern region of India is facing drought for the second consecutive year.

Harmesh Singh has taken to rainwater harvesting on his farm since the groundwater has gone down.
More people should use this zero sewage discharge toilet
The three-decade old 'Gramkranti Eco-Bio Toilet' doesn't pollute or need a septic tank or a sewage network. In fact, its output is a nutrient-rich liquid that can be used as a pesticide! Posted on 13 Nov, 2015 08:46 PM

Toilets need a septic tank or a connection to a sewage network, enough water to clean and flush, and regular maintenance to ensure proper functioning--except if it's the '

The team: Sanjay Joshi (left) and Ravindra Ganorkar (Source: Nivedita Khandekar)
High pressure recharge well to the rescue of school children in Mewat, Haryana
An innovative rainwater harvesting structure stores sweet rainwater below the ground, within a saline aquifer. Posted on 10 Nov, 2015 11:34 AM

356 students and the teachers of Government Middle School in Sukhpuri village of Mewat district, Haryana are a happy lot now that they have access to potable water right within their school premises

School children of Sukhpuri reap the benefit of HPRW (Source: Sumathi Sivam)
What it takes to clean India
A village school in Madhya Pradesh deals with the micro-realities of the area and gets out of a sanitation crisis. Posted on 06 Nov, 2015 12:25 PM

Sajan, a 14 year old Bhilala Adivasi boy studying in the Rani Kajal school in Kakrana in Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh says, "We now save a lot of time as we bathe in the bathrooms and defecate in the toilets rather than in the open fields; and so we study better".

Sewage water filter assembly in the school
Rooftop rainwater harvesting at Chhattisgarh school reduces absenteeism
The film “Rainwater Harvesting: From books to fields”, showcases how rooftop rainwater harvesting can also bring about social and economic change. Posted on 02 Nov, 2015 01:00 PM

Chhattisgarh ranked number 1 in the country for providing domestic water connections in 2014-15 under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).

Rainwater harvesting tank at Madiya Kachar village school
Sustainable practices in slash-and-burn lands in Nagaland
Jhum or shifting cultivation has been criticised regarding its ecological and economic impacts. UNDP takes on the challenge by introducing integrated farm development practices. Posted on 01 Nov, 2015 11:02 AM

A thick smog and haze eclipse the sun all through the day when jhum areas are burnt. Jhum, known as shifting cultivation a practice practice inv

Shifting cultivation lands (Source: Prashant N S, 2006, Wikimedia)
Water warriors – Stories on people and their relationship with water
The stories in this yearbook highlight efforts by rural and urban communities across India to take back ownership of their water resources. Posted on 20 Oct, 2015 06:49 PM

Water sustains lives and livelihoods. It is a precious and finite resource that, in future years, is likely to become the main bone of contention between peoples, states and nations. Water – like every other finite resource – needs sustainable and equitable management, with equal focus on reducing demand, recycling and finding alternatives, as well as the usual emphasis on supply solutions.

Prayers on the bank of the Kshipra
After Cyclone Aila, farming nurtures food, faith in Sunderbans
In 2009, Cyclone Aila caused significant damage to livelihoods in the Sunderbans. While saline soil is subversive to agriculture in the area, integrated farming gives many the courage to start afresh. Posted on 14 Oct, 2015 09:53 PM

“Another flood like Aila should never happen again, but if it does, we have the knowledge to start working on our soil again”, remarks Binota Munda of Nebukhali village in Hingalganj block, North

Seed-banks are an effective instrument to preserve local varieties and keep people together
×